LossSample

MOURNING

How do you process pain or loss? Some of us just sit in it and wallow in our sadness. Some channel it into a creative outlet, creating songs or art that are birthed out of pain. Some of us push it down, act like everything’s fine, and try to avoid it. But, wherever you fall on the “dealing with pain” chart, you need to know that it’s perfectly fine to mourn…to feel the pain of loss deeply and to let yourself process it. We tend to not be great at that as a culture, but we can learn by looking at others.

The Old Testament Prophet, Jeremiah, was one of the greatest mourners in history. He had the unfortunate assignment of giving the people of Israel their final warning that turning away from God was going to result in the destruction of their homeland, and when they didn’t listen, he had to watch it all go down. Just try to imagine standing in your home town and watching it be destroyed, burned to the ground, and then all your fellow citizens being marched off as slaves…it’s a level of devastation that’s hard to wrap your head around. And it’s in the aftermath of that national tragedy that Jeremiah writes the book Lamentations. 

What I hope you’ll see today is the honesty that Jeremiah has when talking to God. He lays it all out there…he is deeply upset, he’s mad at his countrymen, he’s mad at himself, he’s sad that this event happened in the first place. He doesn’t try to mask it, he doesn’t try to act like he understands it…he just sits in front of God and feels all the feels. And you know what, God is perfectly fine with that. In fact, he wants to have that sort of deeply personal relationship with each of us, where we know we can say anything to him and he won’t be offended or put off by it. 

So, whatever you’re dealing with right now - whatever loss has crashed into your world unexpectedly – don’t run from those feelings. Just go to God with everything swirling around in your heart and your head, and let him know that you just don’t get it. As you do that, I’m confident you’ll discover what Jeremiah was reminded of at the end of the passage you’re about to read…that God is still God, that he loves us no matter what is going on around us, and that he is very, very good! And finally, a day is coming when God will get rid of all pain, once and for all.